The message today was written by Charleen Krueger:

The core belief of members of the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers, is that there is that of God, of the divine, in each person, and that we treat people--all people--accordingly. I stand before you today, confessing that for many years I hated two people who did terrible things to me, things of which I am reminded daily. I used to wonder where they were, and what they were doing. I used to wish a slow and painful death for them. One day I received a blessing--the true realization that there was that of God in them, too. And that the only person being hurt by my hatred was me. It was poisoning my heart and eating my soul. In that moment, my hatred was gone. I remembered Jesus on the cross. He said, "Father, forgive them," not "I forgive you," but "Father, Forgive them."

I leave the forgiveness to God, but I am the only one who can rid the hatred from my heart. ... Peace begins with each of us as individuals, in our hearts and in our souls. But peace begins in the world when we wage peace against the causes of war--hunger, injustice, ignorance to name a few. Today is a start. Where do we go from here? What do we do after today to remove the causes of war? Charleen Krueger Friends Bulletin December 2001, page 5